Promoting Coir Products in the World Market
("The
Cocommunity" - Monthly APCC Newsletter
Volume 42, Series No 2- February 2012)
The
Ministry of Health and Coir of the State Government of Kerala,
India in coordination with the National Coir Research and
Management Institute - an agency under the Department of Coir
Development, the Coir Board and the Central Coir Research
Institute will hold the “Coir Kerala Fair” on
4 - 7 February 2012 at the EMS Stadium, Alappuzha, Kerala,
India. It will be one of the world’s largest and most
comprehensive Expo on Kerala coir and natural fibre products.
The four-day event aims at exploring and expanding the international
market for coconut coir products from Kerala, India. It will
also promote and encourage the use of the latest technologies
and machineries used in the processing of coir fiber and coir-based
products.
The Coir Kerala Fair will provide ample opportunities for
domestic manufacturers, exporters and foreign buyers to meet
and interact to promote joint ventures, establish new markets
and trading mechanisms, strengthen existing markets and widen
business contacts and networks. It will likewise showcase
the best coir-based products to the world. The organizers
have indicated that the Fair will capitalize on the “Go
Green” movement and the growing preference for eco-friendly,
natural fibre products around the world as awareness of natural
products and their advantages in preserving and sustaining
the environment are gaining strength.
According to the Honorable Adoor Prakash, Minister for Health
and Coir, Government of Kerala, “Coir Kerala 2012”
will be an international event on coir which will provide
a platform to comprehensively evaluate the current global
market trends, innovations in the application of coir, opportunities
and challenges, research and development in the natural fibre
industry, particularly on coir and coir-based products.
There will be an international seminar during the Fair and
in-depth panel discussions with industry experts, scientists,
policy makers, entrepreneurs, academicians and thinkers representing
the global natural fibre community from various countries.
Indeed, we need to vigorously promote coir and coir-based
products in the world market. We need to showcase the unique
properties of coir fibre when compared to other fibres. Researchers
have shown that coir is the thickest and the most resistant
of all commercial natural fibres. The cellular structure of
coir makes it more elastic than other natural fibres. The
cell walls of coir fibre and pith contain more lignin than
any other commercially relevant natural fibre. As a natural
polymer, the lignin in coir fibre adds strength and elasticity
to the cellulose-based fibre walls. And since lignin resists
bio-degradation, high-lignin materials such as coir fibre
imparts strength and longevity to outdoor applications. These
include geotextiles which have become a very important eco-friendly
product gaining a strong market in the USA, Europe and Asian
countries as erosion control blankets, nets for slope protection,
mulch blankets, roof greening mats, grow sticks, coco logs
as well as skeffed coir for river bank/canal bank support.
Coconut pith has also gained wide acceptance in many horticultural
applications. The demand for mattress fibre, as in China,
remains as a big market with tremendous opportunities.
Indeed, the remarkable properties of coir fibre have made
it as the fibre of choice for several applications. These
properties should give coir fibre and coir-based products
distinct competitive advantage in the world market.

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